The PBC Men's Lacrosse Tournament Semifinals got underway in Montevallo this evening, beginning with an all-Alabama first semifinal. The Falcons took down the Chargers in semifinal one, with the Saints knocking off the Bearcats in semifinal two. #1 Montevallo will face #2 Flagler in the PBC Men's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday at 1:00pm ET |12:00pm CT.
#1 MONTEVALLO 19-9 #4 UAH
MONTEVALLO SURGES PAST UAH 19-9 IN PBC MEN'S LACROSSE SEMIFINAL
MONTEVALLO, Ala. - Montevallo seized control early and never let UAH back into the match Friday night, rolling to a 19-9 victory in the Peach Belt Conference Men’s Lacrosse Tournament semifinal at AL-25. The Falcons scored seven goals in the first quarter and added six more in the second to build a 13-2 halftime lead.
That early burst defined the night. Cameron Diehl opened the scoring with 14:30 left in the first quarter, then struck again at the 2:06 mark as Montevallo stretched its lead to 6-0. Lucas Mullen capped the opening-quarter run with a goal at 1:50, giving Montevallo a 7-0 advantage. Mullen then started the second quarter with another goal, assisted by Ryan Andrews, for an 8-0 lead before Alabama Huntsville broke through on Zach Hulbert’s goal with 13:22 remaining in the half.
Montevallo’s offense stayed balanced throughout. Matthew Boas finished with four goals and one assist, while Mullen posted two goals and four assists for six points. Samuel Martin added two goals and three assists, and Aidan Collery scored with 37 seconds left in the second quarter to send Montevallo into the break ahead 13-2. The Falcons outshot UAH 55-43, held a 41-39 edge in ground balls and won 20 faceoffs compared with 12 for the Chargers.
UAH showed more life after halftime, scoring four times in the third quarter and three more in the fourth. Hulbert and Carter Henninger each scored three goals to lead the Chargers, with Henninger adding an assist. Harrison Skinner started part of that response with a third-quarter goal, and Henninger converted the Chargers’ only extra-man opportunity at 13:05 of the fourth quarter to make it 17-7. He scored again less than eight minutes later, off an assist from Brock Deist, trimming the margin to 18-9.
Even with the improved second half from UAH, Montevallo continued to answer. Martin scored early in the third quarter to make it 14-2, Boas found the net with three seconds left in the quarter for a 17-6 lead, and Devin Virk added another in the fourth. Adam Bryant delivered Montevallo’s final goal with 3:05 remaining, restoring the 10-goal margin at 19-9.
The semifinal result sends Montevallo on with a convincing performance built on early scoring, faceoff control and a steady stream of offensive production from multiple players. Alabama Huntsville’s late push was not enough to erase the damage from the first half, when Montevallo turned a fast start into a decisive postseason win.
#2 FLAGLER 15-11 #3 LANDER
FLAGLER PULLS AWAY FROM LANDER IN PBC MEN'S LACROSSE SEMIFINAL
MONTEVALLO, Ala. - Flagler built its advantage over the first three quarters and held off a late push from Lander for a 15-11 win Friday in the Peach Belt Conference Men’s Lacrosse Tournament semifinal.
Flagler led 5-4 after the first quarter, extended the margin with a 5-3 second quarter and pushed the game further out of reach by winning the third 4-2. That stretch gave Flagler a 14-9 cushion entering the fourth quarter, enough to absorb Lander’s 2-1 edge in the final quarter before closing out the semifinal at the University of Montevallo site. Attendance was 229.
The teams traded early goals before Flagler seized control. Michael Mattaliano opened the scoring for Lander at the 14:28 mark of the first quarter, but Ben Nyberg answered less than two minutes later off an assist from Trace McDonald to tie it 1-1. Luke Aspnes pulled Lander even again at 4-4 with 4:02 left in the first, yet Flagler responded by taking the lead for good. Nyberg struck again at 12:30 of the second quarter, again set up by McDonald, to make it 6-4, and Will Polhill’s late second-quarter goal only trimmed the deficit to 9-6 by halftime.
Flagler’s separation came in the third quarter. Griffin Moore scored at 13:37 to extend the lead to 11-7, and Brendan Obloj, assisted by Brendan Watson, made it 14-7 with 2:52 left in the quarter. Lander continued to press in the fourth, getting a goal from Chase Hanson off a Vince Rappold assist to cut the margin to 15-10 with 4:18 remaining. Brandon Perkins added an unassisted goal in the final second for the 15-11 final.
Nyberg led Flagler with three goals and one assist, while McDonald added two goals and two assists. Moore scored twice as Flagler put 24 shots on goal and finished with a 43-27 advantage in total shots. Lander was paced by Levi Roest’s two goals, while Jeremy Wudrick added a goal and an assist as the Bearcats got scoring from multiple players.
The statistical gap showed up most clearly in possession and mistakes. Lander committed 29 turnovers to Flagler’s 18, a key factor in a game where the teams were otherwise close on ground balls, 31-30 in Lander’s favor. Lander also won the faceoff battle 19-10 and cleared efficiently at 18 of 19, but could not convert on four extra-man chances. Flagler’s goalkeeper finished with six saves on 17 shots on goal, while Lander’s goalkeepers combined for nine saves. Brett Chappell, Chase Cooper, Jon Rodgers and Blake Jowers officiated the semifinal.